


A Step in the Right Direction

by orangemarmalade081596



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alcohol, Canon Compliant, Canon Dialogue, Developing Friendships, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Recovery, but only at the very begining, i guess?, implied/past dasira, personally i ship em in a queerplatonic kinda way and that probably bleeds through, tagged as both gen and slash bc you can read it either way, that's why i'm rating it teen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28690179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangemarmalade081596/pseuds/orangemarmalade081596
Summary: Daisy surprises Jon.
Relationships: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Alice "Daisy" Tonner
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	A Step in the Right Direction

“Right,” Jon sighed.

Tension hung in the air for a moment. Jon could feel a new ache in his neck forming as the muscles in his body tensed further. Any more pressure and he was going to snap beneath it. He could feel it pressing in on all angles, the weight of the whole world, all of his responsibilities and mistakes and (even though Daisy had more or less escaped it) all the people he was actively hurting _still-_

“You need to stop mopin',” Daisy’s amused voice cut through his thoughts.

“I _what?”_

She grinned, enjoying his reaction. “You need to stop swannin' around, being all sad.”

Jon sputtered. “I’m not swanning around-”

Daisy cut him off. “‘Boo-hoo, I’m so alone and a monster.’”

“I am alone!” His blood was boiling. “Martin is-”

"Busy doing paperwork," She cut him off again, shrugging. "Not like he’s dead. Besides, he’s not the only other person here, y'know. There’s me, Melanie, Basira-"

Jon held out a hand to count on his fingers as he spoke. "Traumatized, traumatized, and paranoid! Because of me!"

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself! You’re always talking about choices; we all made ours. Now I’m making a choice to get some drinks in. Comin’?"

"I don’t- I-," Jon stammered, struggling to find an excuse to say no. None came. "...Yeah, okay.”

Daisy nodded at that, seeming pleased with herself. She turned for the door. "Melanie’s out, but I’ll go get Basira."

"Is she… Will she want to join us?"

She froze and turned her head slowly. When she spoke, her voice had dropped down and taken on an alarmingly rough quality. "If she doesn’t, I’ll rip her throat out."

His heart stuttered, and he tensed. "Uh…"

She rolled her eyes again. "It’s a _joke,_ Jon."

"Oh." He forced a strained laugh as he tried to coax his body out of flight. "...Yes. I- I’ll get my coat."

-

It turned out Jon was right; Basira wasn't interested. She was so disinterested in fact that she actively discouraged their leaving for an unnecessary reason, something about extra risks that served no purpose. Daisy called her a tightass, and though the tone of her voice had been lighthearted, the resulting tension in the air had been too thick to breathe in.

So that's how he ended up seated on an uncomfortably high bar stool, alone with Daisy, nursing his first drink delicately while she was working on her third.

"Ugh," She huffed after a long sip.

"What is it?" Jon asked.

"I can't believe her. She's no fun anymore," Daisy said. 

"Hmph. 'Anymore?' I find it hard to believe there was a time in the past during which she was ever fun."

Daisy's loud, barking laughter startled him. Sure, it had been a joke, but he hadn't thought it was _that_ funny. But Daisy was looking at him with that wide, toothy grin, and he had to look down at his cup for an excuse to break the eye contact.

She hummed a deep sound low in her throat after another moment of quiet. Jon looked up, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. Instead she was looking off into the distance, a softer, almost wistful smile on her face now.

"Nah," She shook her head. "She was fun."

Jon didn't really know what to say to that. Her smile melted into a frown and she quickly finished her drink before signaling the bartender back over.

-

At first he was nervous about the amount Daisy seemed to plan to drink with the pace she was setting, worrying about what it might do to her nerves and in terms of triggering aggression, but it turned out that she could hold her alcohol well and was a remarkably happy drunk. She stopped herself at just four and swapped out for a water, telling him they should leave soon. Jon nodded his agreement.

While he waited for her to finish her water, he passively observed the other patrons in the bar. A particularly interesting pair of individuals caught his eye; there was a man who was clearly striking out, refusing to stop talking to a visibly uncomfortable woman. He frowned, considering whether he should say something, before Daisy spoke and pulled him out of his trance.

"Be right back," was all she said before she pushed herself to her feet and made her way across the bar.

Jon watched in horror as she approached the people he'd been watching. He tensed and braced a hand against the bar, ready to spring into action if she… if she… well, he didn't want to think about it.

His chest clenched painfully with fear as she got close up behind the man and reached for him. Jon's feet were on the ground the moment she made contact with him, but she just… gently guided him out of the way, normal and calm, a simple "excuse-me" gesture Jon himself would use on a normal day. Some of the tension left his shoulders from pure bewilderment. 

He continued to watch in confusion as she said something to the woman. The stranger nodded in response and started to gather her things before standing up, offering a short, begrudging nod to the man, before she just… calmly exited the bar with Daisy. 

Jon had to consciously put effort into closing his dropped jaw and keeping his eyes off the man who was approaching the bar with irritation etched into his features. He sat down a few spots away from Jon and hailed for the bartender.

The buzz of his phone in his pocket had Jon's nervous hands fumbling for it. When he pulled it out, he saw to his relief it was from Daisy.

_Come outside will you? Don't want to make a scene._

He tapped out that he was on his way as he made his way to the door. Daisy was waiting there a few feet away. She started walking wordlessly when Jon caught up to her.

"What, ah, what happened?" He ventured after a moment of silence.

She lifted a shoulder. "Saw you lookin' at something, seemed upset. Looked to what you were lookin' at and figured it was better me than you sayin' something."

"Well, right, yes, but," he paused. "I mean, what did you… say?"

"Acted like I knew her. Said sorry, that the line in the bathroom was long, was she ready to go." She gestured vaguely in the air.

"Then you just… walked out?" Jon could feel a smile creeping onto his face.

"Yeah?" She shot him a confused look. "Walked her to her car."

Jon stayed quiet for another moment. Daisy mumbled a sound of confusion. 

"I- I-" He huffed a laugh. "Suppose I'm just… proud of you."

"What for? He wouldn't've left if it was _you,"_ She teased, plopping her hand heavily on the top of Jon's head.

He flailed at her arm, trying to shove her off. "Yes yes, well my stature aside, I'm proud of you for… de-esclating the situation. For not, ah…"

Daisy caught on after he trailed off. "...Oh." She shoved him by the grip she had on the top of his head. "You're soft, Sims."

When he looked up at her to protest, he saw the barest hint of a genuine smile on her face. He closed his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for readin! come holler at me on tumblr @multi-fandom-marmalde if you'd like. comments are my lifeline and i would greatly appreciate anything you have to say! ^^


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